George Raptis tells us that while Sydney is taking a breather, it is still performing well.  Good properties are short and demand is strong.  He says developers are going crazy.

Korgen Hucent gives us a sobering report on the Northern Territory and that the oversupply is bringing a whole different type of investor into that market.   He tells us about the new challenge property owners are facing.

For the first time in this whip around the country, we acknowledge the importance of the North Queensland property market and Chris Gay from Cairns gives us his view on why investors remain positive about the north.

Dr Andrew Wilson from Domain takes an overall view of the national market and says we have a new reality in the Australian housing market as he predicts the boom times are behind us and the market is likely to flatten.

Despite so much bad news coming out in the South Australian market, what with the news from Holden and more recently the shut down in Wyalla, Peter Koulitzos says investors should not discount the infrastructure development happening there.

Kate Forbes helps us understand why the ACT market has underperformed in recent years but she points out there are some signs of improvement but that with a looming Federal election, consumer sentiment will again play a roll in what happens there.

 

Transcripts:

George Raptis - 

Kevin:  As you heard at the start of the show, this week and next, we’re going to be looking at Australia, at the different property markets. Where better to start than in the Sydney market, one of the hottest markets we’ve seen in a long time? Our expert on the ground there is none other than George Raptis from Metropole Properties in New South Wales.

George, it’s been an incredible time – hasn’t it – for that market?

George:  It sure has, Kevin.

Kevin:  Let’s have a bit of an overview. We’ll have a look at the Sydney market first and then take me into the state overall. Tell me what you’re seeing there now.

George:  It was a head-spinning 2015, wasn’t it? Property markets had started 2016 with a bunch of mixed predictions: some people calling for property bubbles, others forecasting lower but some continuing capital growth.

The scorecard is in for the first quarter, and yes, our property market have slipped down a gear a little. The Sydney market is taking a well-earned breather, with house prices dropping in some locations, but overall, they’re up nearly 50% from the previous market trough in 2012.

Kevin:  What’s impacting the market now, both positive and negative, George?

George:  I’d say the fundamentals for our harbor city property market are sound because jobs are being created here and the population continues to grow strongly, actually. There was a lot of the media reporting that Sydney markets dropped. That’s true; the market is still fragmented with a shortage of good properties, especially in areas like the inner western and eastern suburbs, at a time when there is still strong demand from both homebuyers and investors.

Kevin:  Are there any areas that you’d avoid, both in Sydney and in the state?

George:  I haven’t been in [1:44 inaudible] a long time, as you know. There are certain areas that I am concerned about, especially areas in previous industrial areas where they’re now over-developing, a lot of new things mushrooming out of the ground.

The last time I saw it was the last boom here in Sydney in the 1999–2003 fall when a lot of people bought speculatively, a lot of off-the-plan type properties and when they were due to complete, unfortunately, evaluations came in low and they couldn’t get them rented because so many of them looked the same. I have a little bit of concern about that particular segment in the market, for sure.

Kevin:  How would you describe investor sentiment right now?

George:  The current low in the property market is creating, in my opinion, a great opportunity for both homebuyers and